What to Bring to Your First Meeting With Your Divorce Attorney

Meeting with your divorce attorney for the first time is unsettling, no matter how you arrived at this point in your relationship. To make the meeting as efficient, focused, and productive as possible, these are the most important things to bring to your first meeting with your divorce attorney:

An Open Mind

In the beginning, you can be considering divorce, filing for divorce, or have been served with a citation suing you for divorce. During your first meeting with your divorce lawyer, you will discuss many personal matters. Remember, your attorney is not there to pass judgement, and everything you say will remain confidential.

What to bring:A willingness to share and listen with an open mind.

Your Wishlist

Start by crafting broad goals about what you want out of the divorce. Consider things like child custody, whether you want to stay in your marital home, how to pay for expenses like school tuition and your children’s health insurance, what assets are most important to you, who gets the pets, how you’ll pay for college, etc.

Again, the fine points may evolve as you work through the process. But if you keep your eye on the prize when it comes to the goals that matter most to you, you’ll be in a better position to negotiate.

What to bring: Your list of goals. You can even make it as simple as a top 10 list.

Your Questions

This is the time to ask about what approach is best for you – litigation or an alternative dispute resolution method, who’ll pay for what during the divorce, whether you should request spousal support, how long it will take, how to work through child custody and child support issues, and more.

What to bring: A written list of questions. Writing down your list will ensure you cover as much ground as possible in your first meeting with your divorce attorney.

Contact a Chattanooga Divorce Attorney

Hiring a lawyer who specializes in family law will give you the confidence and stability to cope with the process and get the results you seek.

At Speek, Webb, Turner, and Newkirk, we have helped thousands of couples with their divorces, and we will work hard to represent you in yours. Please contact us today if you need help with your divorce.